The Obdurodon dicksoni otherwise known as the Riversleigh Platypus lived about 23-10 million years ago. The modern platypus is quite similar to the Riversleigh Platypus but the Riversleigh Platypus has a larger bill and is larger in size (about 60cm when measured from head to tail). The Riversleigh platypus is endemic to Australia just like the Giant Wombat , also they both need water often to survive.
Habitat:
Riversleigh Platypus Habitat. Labelled by Tiffany Tsoi, Source: http://www.timerock.com/library/images/site_riversleigh.gif
Riversleigh area (where the riversleigh platypuses lived) in 2010. Source: http://www.australianwildlife.com.au/images/riversleigh5.jpg
The Riversleigh Platypus was named as it comes (and is only known) from the Riversleigh World Heritage Fossil Site (northwestern Queensland). The Riversleigh area which the Riversleigh Platypuses lived in during the (early to middle) Miocene time period would have been would have been made up of an assortment of lakes, pools and caves. Studies suggest that the environment which the Riversleigh Platypus lived in would have had rainforests or woodland around the watercourse.
Teeth The Riversleigh platypus was given the generic name Obdurodon (which means "enduring tooth"). Modern platypuses do not have teeth but instead have horny pads inside its mouth to break up its food but fossils have shown that the Riversleigh platypus indeed did have teeth and the horny pads which they used to break food up. This adaptation may have been influence by where the platypus was living, as it has been suggested they the Riversleigh platypus ate frogs, larger prey and other underwater creatures.
Structural Adaptation 2 Bill Both the Riversleigh Platypus and Kookaburra have large bills but certianly the platypuses bill is much larger. The bill of an ancient platypus is much larger than the modern platypus too. Unlike the modern platypuses they scraped the sides of riverbanks to find food. Also they had teeth which they used to break food up with. The adaptation of the bill was most likely influenced by the need for food as the sides of rivers were harder to scrape and less food maybe have been found at once to be able to satisfy the Riversleigh platypus.
Behavioral Adaptation 1 Hunting
Illustration of small platypus hunting, Source:https://www.msu.edu/user/labrecqu/student%20pages%20to%20use/hanamaki/pictures/platypusS.GIF
The Riversleigh Platypus’s head was a rather oddly flat shaped skull. It is assumed that the Riversleigh Platypus spent some of it’s time hunting like the crocodile does as they share a few characteristics. Not only did the Riversleigh Platypus hunt on the surface of the water, but it also scraped the sides of riverbanks. The Riversleigh Platypus’s teeth have led to the suggestion that the Riversleigh Platypus hunted insects and other smaller creatures and also largers ones such as small fishes and frogs.
Behavioral Adaptation 2 Nocturnal creatures
The PLatypuses burrow, Source:http://www.sheppardsoftware.com/content/animals/images/mammals/platypus_burrow.jpg
Just like the modern platypus, the Riversleigh Platypus is also an nocturnal creature. It stays in the burrow for most of the day only to become active in the early evening and morning. The best time to spot them would have after dusk and dawn. They spend most of their time in the water as they do not travel as well on land as they waddle briskly. The only time the Riversleigh Platypus is not alone would be if it was mating or if they are mothers with their young. They do not show much interest in other platypuses unless it is mating season. This adaptation is likely to have happened to shield the Riversleigh platypus from the scorching sun and many predetors that they may not be able to escape from.
Physiological Adaptation Eggs
Small platypus egg, Source:http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_TBo02pPkXnY/R-BvsRhqXHI/AAAAAAAAAdQ/Y-Q9zSfXdzE/s320/platypus+egg.jpg
Like the Baboon the Riversleigh Platypus too is a mammal but the platypus is a walking contradiction. Unlike the baboon the platypus lays eggs instead of giving birth to their young like other mammals. Each Riversleigh Platypus only lays up to about 1-3 eggs. Just like the modern platypuses the eggs are in the burrow with the mother as she incubates the eggs until they hatch. This adaptation is most likely influenced by the fact that the platypus is only so big and can only incubate so many eggs. The eggs are mostly likely in the burrows as they trap the warmth and hide the eggs from other predators that are more than willing to go and give an egg that is in the open a chance in being eating / destroyed.
Extinction Pressure
The Riversleigh platypus's extinction would have been influenced by the ever changing environment. The Riversleigh Platypus was not as well equipped to survive as the modern platypus is. The Riversleigh platypus mostly scraped the sides of rivers and that would not have been enough to satisfy a platypus. Also the competition between larger animals that were more equipped to hunt led to the platypuses extinction.
spring, e., courtship., sharp., rivals, b. l., dance, t. v., courtship, d. w., et al. (n.d.). Monotremata (Monotremes): Information from Answers.com. Answers.com: Wiki Q&A combined with free online dictionary, thesaurus, and encyclopedias. Retrieved June 23, 2010, from http://www.answers.com/topic/monotremata-monotremes
Modern Platypus
Riversleigh Platypus
(Obdurodon dicksoni)
The Obdurodon dicksoni otherwise known as the Riversleigh Platypus lived about 23-10 million years ago. The modern platypus is quite similar to the Riversleigh Platypus but the Riversleigh Platypus has a larger bill and is larger in size (about 60cm when measured from head to tail). The Riversleigh platypus is endemic to Australia just like the Giant Wombat , also they both need water often to survive.
Habitat:
The Riversleigh Platypus was named as it comes (and is only known) from the Riversleigh World Heritage Fossil Site (northwestern Queensland). The Riversleigh area which the Riversleigh Platypuses lived in during the (early to middle) Miocene time period would have been would have been made up of an assortment of lakes, pools and caves. Studies suggest that the environment which the Riversleigh Platypus lived in would have had rainforests or woodland around the watercourse.
Adaptations:
Structural Adaptation 1
Teeth
The Riversleigh platypus was given the generic name Obdurodon (which means "enduring tooth"). Modern platypuses do not have teeth but instead have horny pads inside its mouth to break up its food but fossils have shown that the Riversleigh platypus indeed did have teeth and the horny pads which they used to break food up. This adaptation may have been influence by where the platypus was living, as it has been suggested they the Riversleigh platypus ate frogs, larger prey and other underwater creatures.
Structural Adaptation 2
Bill
Both the Riversleigh Platypus and Kookaburra have large bills but certianly the platypuses bill is much larger. The bill of an ancient platypus is much larger than the modern platypus too. Unlike the modern platypuses they scraped the sides of riverbanks to find food. Also they had teeth which they used to break food up with. The adaptation of the bill was most likely influenced by the need for food as the sides of rivers were harder to scrape and less food maybe have been found at once to be able to satisfy the Riversleigh platypus.
Behavioral Adaptation 1
Hunting
The Riversleigh Platypus’s head was a rather oddly flat shaped skull. It is assumed that the Riversleigh Platypus spent some of it’s time hunting like the crocodile does as they share a few characteristics. Not only did the Riversleigh Platypus hunt on the surface of the water, but it also scraped the sides of riverbanks. The Riversleigh Platypus’s teeth have led to the suggestion that the Riversleigh Platypus hunted insects and other smaller creatures and also largers ones such as small fishes and frogs.
Behavioral Adaptation 2
Nocturnal creatures
Just like the modern platypus, the Riversleigh Platypus is also an nocturnal creature. It stays in the burrow for most of the day only to become active in the early evening and morning. The best time to spot them would have after dusk and dawn. They spend most of their time in the water as they do not travel as well on land as they waddle briskly. The only time the Riversleigh Platypus is not alone would be if it was mating or if they are mothers with their young. They do not show much interest in other platypuses unless it is mating season. This adaptation is likely to have happened to shield the Riversleigh platypus from the scorching sun and many predetors that they may not be able to escape from.
Physiological Adaptation
Eggs
Like the Baboon the Riversleigh Platypus too is a mammal but the platypus is a walking contradiction. Unlike the baboon the platypus lays eggs instead of giving birth to their young like other mammals. Each Riversleigh Platypus only lays up to about 1-3 eggs. Just like the modern platypuses the eggs are in the burrow with the mother as she incubates the eggs until they hatch. This adaptation is most likely influenced by the fact that the platypus is only so big and can only incubate so many eggs. The eggs are mostly likely in the burrows as they trap the warmth and hide the eggs from other predators that are more than willing to go and give an egg that is in the open a chance in being eating / destroyed.
Extinction Pressure
The Riversleigh platypus's extinction would have been influenced by the ever changing environment. The Riversleigh Platypus was not as well equipped to survive as the modern platypus is. The Riversleigh platypus mostly scraped the sides of rivers and that would not have been enough to satisfy a platypus. Also the competition between larger animals that were more equipped to hunt led to the platypuses extinction.
Bibliography